english as a second language
english is the official language of uganda, but not really. english is only spoken between two ugandans when there is a native english speaker (read: ex-pat) close by, and the english that is spoken could be a foreign language as far as i can tell. first, it's british english. second, the accent's so strong, who knows what's going on sometimes.
good old colonialism really did a number on uganda. like most of colonial africa, they did not create "uganda, the nation" along ethnic lines. rather, the colonists created an arbritrary nation according to their conveniences. consequently, uganda encompasses many unrelated ethnic groups, and has borders that cut across many other related ethnic groups. end result: uganda is an ethnic mix with its divisions strongly marked linguistically.
they say in uganda that you can go 15 kilometers in any direction and you'll find a different language spoken than where you are now. as one bantu near fort portal said, "i am bantu and he is bantu. i can hear his language, but i cannot speak his language."
peace corps volunteers have it easy. they can't get far on their bicycles, so chances are they won't pass outside the 15 km radius. so, they get their 3 months of intensive language instruction and off they go. for those of us who travel more around the country (e.g. MIHV's programs are in 3 separate districts - 2 in the southwest, 1 in the far northwest), the language barrier is a bit more challenging. if you assume 2 languages per district, then at minimum i'll encounter 6 languages just in my work-related travel. it makes me feel as if learning a local language is useless...at least 5/6 of the people i encounter won't know what i'm saying. but, i'm so used to being able to communicate (i've done all of my 3rd world travel in latin america and speak spanish fluently), that i'm going to try anyway.
i've picked up some luganda words (thank you, how are you, okay, goodbye, sir, madam)...just enough to make people laugh with appreciation when i speak. funny thing is i still haven't figured out how to say hello. i guess hello is a complicated exchange of greetings based on time of day, how long it's been since you saw each other, your relationship, etc etc etc. huh? maybe i'll be in over my head, but what the hell. you only live in uganda once. so, i'm going to start taking 1-on-1 luganda lessons. i'll let you know when i figure out "hello." 101paige 101africa
good old colonialism really did a number on uganda. like most of colonial africa, they did not create "uganda, the nation" along ethnic lines. rather, the colonists created an arbritrary nation according to their conveniences. consequently, uganda encompasses many unrelated ethnic groups, and has borders that cut across many other related ethnic groups. end result: uganda is an ethnic mix with its divisions strongly marked linguistically.
they say in uganda that you can go 15 kilometers in any direction and you'll find a different language spoken than where you are now. as one bantu near fort portal said, "i am bantu and he is bantu. i can hear his language, but i cannot speak his language."
peace corps volunteers have it easy. they can't get far on their bicycles, so chances are they won't pass outside the 15 km radius. so, they get their 3 months of intensive language instruction and off they go. for those of us who travel more around the country (e.g. MIHV's programs are in 3 separate districts - 2 in the southwest, 1 in the far northwest), the language barrier is a bit more challenging. if you assume 2 languages per district, then at minimum i'll encounter 6 languages just in my work-related travel. it makes me feel as if learning a local language is useless...at least 5/6 of the people i encounter won't know what i'm saying. but, i'm so used to being able to communicate (i've done all of my 3rd world travel in latin america and speak spanish fluently), that i'm going to try anyway.
i've picked up some luganda words (thank you, how are you, okay, goodbye, sir, madam)...just enough to make people laugh with appreciation when i speak. funny thing is i still haven't figured out how to say hello. i guess hello is a complicated exchange of greetings based on time of day, how long it's been since you saw each other, your relationship, etc etc etc. huh? maybe i'll be in over my head, but what the hell. you only live in uganda once. so, i'm going to start taking 1-on-1 luganda lessons. i'll let you know when i figure out "hello." 101paige 101africa
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